Few managerial mistakes can do as much damage as hiring the wrong people. Yet matching job to candidate calls for a systematic approach to the business of recruitment and selection.

Increasingly line managers are taking responsibility for the entire process of recruitment, yet often they’ve received little or no formal training. The aim of this manual is to help trainers to equip line managers with the skills and knowledge that will enable them to carry out the recruitment and selection function effectively. The emphasis throughout is on the practical.

The activities are presented in eight Parts, which together span the entire subject. Trainers can select activities to focus on a key aspect or use them to construct a comprehensive training programme.

The activities employ a variety of learning methods, including role plays, small group and individual exercises, case studies and brainstorming. As in all Gower looseleaf training manuals, the activities are experiential and participative and contain detailed instructions for the trainer, together with ready-to-copy masters for participants' material.

Contents
Part I The Need for Good Practice: Introducing recruitment and selection; Good and bad experiences; Good and bad practice. Part II Job Analysis: What is job analysis?; Practical exercise. Part III Job Description: What is a job description?; From job analysis to job description. Part IV The Person Specification: What is a person specification?; Structure and content of a person specification; Practical exercise; Fagin’s Boys; Own job. Part V Finding the Applicant: Word game; External recruitment agencies; Recruitment advertising - basic guidelines; Preparing an advertisement; Responding to the vacancy. Part VI Preliminary Shortlisting: The shortlisting process; Screening criteria; Practical exercise - I; Practical exercise - II; Practical exercise - III; Accuracy of Selection Methods. Part VII Before the Interview: Planning and preparing the interview; The interview assessment form. Part VIII The Interview: The opening; Questioning techniques; Asking the right questions; Listening skills; Communication through body language; Positive and negative body language; 'What went wrong?'; The close; The interview; Appendix - Relevant legislation.

About the Authors
Dee Jones is a human relations specialist with extensive experience of recruitment and selection in both the private and public sectors. Deborah Widdop has been designing and developing training programmes and material for more than fifteen years. They work together as 'Resource Consultants', offering the full range of HR and training services, including consultancy, programme design, course delivery and distance learning.